BN Débito Agua: a debit card that cares for Costa Rica’s water  

In July 2023, Banco Nacional and AguaTica presented the BN Débito Agua card, the first and only debit card in the world created to protect the aquifers and guarantee the conservation of Costa Rica’s water.

"The BN Debit Water card generates benefits for the environment in two ways: it is made with 85.5% recycled plastic, and every time customers use it, a percentage of the fees charged by the Bank will be used to conserve drinking water," explained María Brenes, general director of Institutional Relations and Sustainability at Banco Nacional.

Worldwide, 2 billion people (26% of the population) do not have safe drinking water and 3.6 billion (46%) lack access to safely managed sanitation, according to the report, published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water and released at the UN Water 2023 Conference.

The BN Debit Water card is an innovative product that seeks to provide an innovative solution to Costa Rica’s water conservation needs.

Every time you use the BN Débito Agua card, a percentage will go towards the protection of aquifers and the conservation of the sub-basins of the Grande de Tárcoles and Virilla rivers, which flow through 33 of the country’s cantons and are of vital importance for national industry, supplying 57% of Costa Rica’s population.

Agua Tica is the first public-private and civil society water fund in Central America, of which BLP is a strategic partner in the creation and sustainability of this initiative, leading its legal structuring through Sustainability by BLP. Our partner Mauricio Salas, legal advisor and member of the board of directors of this institution, comments on the presentation of the new product: "This is a historic milestone for the financial industry in Costa Rica, as well as for the fight for environmental conservation. For the first time, a bank is creating a product aimed at conserving the country’s aquifers.

BLP is proud to support initiatives aimed at the conservation of the planet, in line with its commitment to the sustainable development of Central America, by being the preferred strategic legal ally for this type of projects in the country.

Part of this commitment to sustainable development is materialised with the achievement of the Ecological Blue Flag Programme and Carbon Neutral Plus certifications, which BLP has obtained on multiple occasions.



blplegal.com